Let’s talk about packing for these adventures.
You’ve got options, right? Pack 1 outfit per day, per person.
OR pack less outfits than what you need for the whole vacation, and then do laundry.
So which do you choose?
I will admit that my choice here has been biased by my own parents. When we road-tripped through Europe at 18, I learned quickly how to wash my underwear in Italian sinks, and line dry overnight. So, it has been a bit ingrained in me that I don’t have to bring enough laundry for every day of the trip. Which, quite frankly, is probably the right option (at least for us) when traveling with kids.
From spilled beverages (no, I don’t just mean the kids drinks either, I mean my own red wine…) to stepping in poop to HAVING poop in the underwear to… You get the point. We’d have to do laundry anyways, so might as well plan for it up front, and pack lighter.
The goal was to NOT drag massive suitcases across European cobblestone streets, and lug them up and down European train stairs. (Spoiler alert: we still did all of these things.)
We successfully navigated trains, cobblestones, and crowded stations, right up until the moment we touched back down on US soil. Let’s dive into how we actually packed our kids for two weeks in Europe, the gear that saved my sanity, and the glorious, gravity-defying moment at JFK that reminded me that no matter how organized I pretend to be, I am still very much myself.
The 4-Outfit Rule (Yes, Really)
When you’re planning a 14-night itinerary, every parental instinct yells at you to pack 14 distinct outfits, plus three emergency backups for when someone inevitably spills chocolate gelato down their front. But if we did that, we would have needed our own shipping container.
So, we made a rule: four outfits each. (If you’re wondering about if I myself followed this rule, please see the post on the Sudoku packing method. Of course I didn’t follow my own rule!)
And that includes the outfit for the plane/travel days.
I know what you’re thinking: Did your children smell like wet dogs by day nine? Surprisingly, no more than usual.
The secret is that we fully committed to doing laundry.
The hotels we booked (which, if you’re traveling to Paris, please make sure you pop by the post on which hotel to NOT book) had laundry machines on-site, and we also did a quick sink-wash with powdered laundry detergent.
Kids’ clothes are small. They dry fast. And honestly, absolutely nobody in Paris or Belgium knows (or cares) if your seven-year-old is wearing the exact same maroon shirt they wore three days ago. By sticking to four coordinating, mix-and-match outfits, we cut our luggage volume in half.
The Packing Cubes
If you aren’t using packing cubes yet, I need you to pause, open another tab, and buy some immediately. Seriously, go. I’ll wait.
For each kid, we brought:
- 4 shirts
- 4 bottoms
- 1 long sleeve/pant outfit
- 1 sweatshirt + 1 rain jacket
- 1 swimsuit
- 1 dress for the oldest + 1 extra shirt (and shorts) for the youngest (potty training… right?!)
Yes these cubes do slightly compress, but I like them more from an organizational perspective. It made it easier to put together daily outfits and throw them into a bag for travel days, or also separate out dirty laundry once it was worn. Also, whenever we checked into a new place, we always fully unpacked ALL of the items (we don’t try to live out of suitcases, it’s just too hard).
The Kid’s Luggage: Deuter Backpacks + 1 Rolling Suitcase
Each kid has one backpack, and then they share a rolling suitcase.
We took the kids abroad last summer as well, and at that point we invested in ergonomic Deuter kids’ backpacks. These aren’t your typical school bags that sag down to their knees and pull on their shoulders. These packs have actual padded hip belts, chest straps, and ventilated back panels, meaning the weight is distributed properly across their hips.
Each backpack contained:
- Water bottle
- Entertainment activities
- iPad/Kindle on travel days
Some days they wore their backpacks out and about on our adventures, and other days they left them at home. But on travel days, they had to have them on to help do their part.
Our 1 rolling suitcase was a carry-on size. Since our oldest kid was in charge of rolling it, we made this one a little bit smaller than a standard carry-on.
This was just an Amazon Basics suitcase, hard-shell, rolling/spinning carry-on. Nothing super expensive nor fancy. All of the kids clothes went in this suitcase, and our oldest was in charge of it. (I cannot WAIT until both kids are old enough to roll both of their suitcases!)
The JFK Escalator Incident: A Humbling Finale
So, we did it. We survive our big travel days. We did the laundry. The kids carried their backpacks like absolute champions (mostly). We were feeling quite smug and pleased with ourselves.
And then, we landed at JFK, and enter karma.
We just had an 8 hour flight, our youngest has been asleep for 2 hours and doesn’t want to walk, and our bodies think it is 12:30am. We are leaving baggage claim. I have on my loaded travel backpack, two rolling suitcases, and a duffel bag on top of each suitcase.
I stepped onto the escalator, the first rolling suitcase missed the step, and gravity did the rest.
If you have ever fallen backward while wearing a fully packed travel backpack, you know exactly what happened. You become a helpless, overturned beetle. I was a slow-motion tangle of limbs, straps, and shattered pride, slowly riding down the metal steps as my family watched from the top of the escalator, unable to do a thing.
Aside from a few spectacular bruises and a deeply wounded ego, I was fine. But it was a hilarious, humbling reminder: you can pack as light as you want, plan down to the millimeter, and color-code every sock… but family travel will always find a way to knock you right back down to earth.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll dive into the great debate: Carry-on vs. Checked Luggage. Until then, keep your bags light, your laundry frequent, and please, watch your step on the escalators!
